Record Fine for Apprentice Head Injury

An industrial component manufacturer company in Victoria has been issued with a record fine of $2.1 million, plus an individual fine of $140,000 on its director, for recklessly engaging in conduct that placed a person in danger of a serious injury.

In October 2021, a 20-year-old, second year apprentice was struck in the head with a steel pipe, while holding a plastic sleeve that steadied the rotating length of steel pipe, which was being threaded in a lathe. As a result, the apprentice sustained significant head injuries and spent over 5 months in hospital.

A Worksafe Victoria investigation found that the directors should have been aware of the risks and that it was reasonably practicable to eliminate or reduce the risks of an injury occurring by affixing suitable covers to the lathe and developing an exclusion zone.

The Director pleaded guilty and has also been placed on a five-year Community Corrections order which includes 600 hours of unpaid community service, as well as personal fine of $140,000.

As provided by Worksafe QLD, To manage risks, persons conducting a business or undertaking should:

• Identify hazards – a hazard is something that could cause harm to people
  • Inspect your business
  • Talk to your employees
  • Review available information and follow safety instructions on equipment/machinery
• Assess the risk at work
  • For each hazard, determine:
    • Severity of harm it could cause
    • How likely that harm is to occur
    • What controls are already in place to reduce the risk of harm
    • How urgently additional action needs to be taken.
• Control the risks
  • Depending on the hazard will depend on the control measures
    • Level 1
      • Eliminate the hazard completely
    • Level 2
      • Substitute the hazard with something safer
      • Isolate the hazard from people
      • Reduce the risks through engineering controls
    • Level 3
      • Reduce exposure to the hazard using administrative actions
      • Use personal protective equipment.
• Review controls
  • Once controls are implemented, they need to be monitored regularly.
    • For further information, review How to manage work health and safety risks – Code of Practice 2021

To assist members in meeting their safety requirements, MPAQ Safety is available to contracting members at no additional cost. MPAQ Safety provides members with a cloud-based workplace health and safety (WHS) management system designed to provide industry with a clear, quick, and compliant system to manage WHS in their businesses. For further information, please click on the link below.

MPAQ SAFETY

For further information or safety advice, please contact our office on 07 3273 0800.